The Mash-Up: Breweries Double Down on Double IPA

With over 170 breweries now pouring their beer in Minnesota, there’s always something new to try. To keep you up to date, we present The Mash-Up—our weekly rundown of new beers and seasonal releases in Minnesota from your favorite local and national breweries. Visit growlermag.com every Friday for the latest or sign up for a weekly email.

While this week has a lot to celebrate beer-wise, it started with bad news in Walker, when Portage Brewing Company was destroyed in a fire. Fortunately no one was injured, but the brewery will require a complete rebuild. While we wait for more information about Portage’s future, here’s a look at what’s new elsewhere.

Double IPAs are the style of the week, with several breweries releasing new varieties. Jack Pine and Hop & Barrel are both celebrating anniversaries this weekend, Bad Weather announced the official Winter Carnival beer, and Inbound has put Contains Nuts into cans. In other exciting news, Bauhaus Crop Circus is back—which means a new Bauhaus promotional video too. There are new beers from Modist, Insight, and a new Summit variety pack is hitting liquor stores and bars now.

Each week, The Growler’s editorial team highlights five of the most tantalizing new beers hitting taps and store shelves that we’re most excited to try.

FINNEGANS Red Lodge Oatmeal Spruce Tips Porter (Minneapolis)

Assistant brewer Logan McLean personally picked the Montana blue spruce tips that define this 6.9% ABV porter, which has strong piney notes, complemented by notes of lemon and orange with perfumey characteristics. Specially made for the brewery’s Dark Week, this one will be released on Wednesday, January 16.

Back Channel Cold Storage (Spring Park)

Brewed in collaboration with Revelation Ale Works, this is an imperial brown ale with masala chai and toasted coconut. It offers notes of toast, coffee, and subtle chocolate, chai, and coconut, the brewery says, with more spice character and coconut coming out as it warms.

Junkyard Aerial Scenario (Moorhead)

A 7.9% ABV New England-style double IPA that Junkyard says makes this “[A] spectacularly bright beer with layers of pineapple, mango, lemon, and the right amount of zesty bitterness.”

Steel Toe Size 11 (St. Louis Park)

At 11.4% ABV, 111 IBU, this triple IPA delivers notes of melon, citrus peel, grapefruit, and guava with a velvety mouthfeel, the brewery says. Available this Friday, January 11 at the brewery, both on draft and in 750-milliliter bottles.

Jack Pine Big Buck 2019 (Baxter)

Jack Pine celebrates six years on Saturday with the release of Big Buck 2019. “A big, bold, hoppy American barleywine, this beauty ages wonderfully with the aggressive hop presence mellowing and the malt complexity building as the years go by,” the brewery says. Limited bottles will be available.

New beers available this week (January 7–January 13)

Citrafication Vol. 3 – A 12.4% ABV triple IPA that “is 100 percent Citra-hopped, with heavy aromas of pineapple and mango, and an abundance of juicy, tropical fruit flavor,” the brewery says. The release party takes place at the taproom on Saturday.

612Brew

Resilience Butte County Proud IPA – With all proceeds going to benefit California wildfire victims, this charitable IPA goes on tap today at 612. “We are proud to be joining over 1,400 brewers across the world to support the victims of the Camp Fire. Without the pioneering work of Sierra Nevada, many of us would not be brewers today. We wanted to add some Minnesota Nice to our version by hopping it with MN-grown Comet from our friends at Mighty Axe Hops in addition to Cascade, Centennial, and Columbus,” the brewery says, noting that their version of Resilience features notes of fruit, citrus and pine consistent.

Avery Brewing Co.

Hazyish IPA – A juicy, hazy, and aromatic IPA made with Amarillo, Azacca, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops is now a year round beer from Avery.

Back Channel Brewing

Cold Storage – Top Flight selection.

Drinking Teams – Another collaboration, this double IPA was made with assistance from Ansari’s Mediterranean Grill and the still-to-open Drastic Measures Brewing. “the first sip punches you with pith-like bitterness followed by aromatics of passion fruit, pineapple, lemon lime and papaya,” the brewery says.8.75%, 80 IBU. Available this Sunday.

Empress – A wheat ale, tapped last week.

Ballast Point Brewing Co.

Brut IPA – A slightly bitter, dry IPA with juicy and citrus hop character, the brewery says. To be sold in 6-packs.

Nibble Nibble – A house-made root beer, sold at the brewery, and made with sugar from the Southern Minnesota Sugar Beet Cooperative.

Castle Danger Brewery

Baltic Porter – A new release in the limited release Taproom Series. Check out the full 2019 calendar from Castle Danger in the “announced” section below.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

Dark Blackberry Sour – Now on tap, this sour ale was brewed with flaked oats, flaked wheat, chocolate malt, and then hopped with Mosaic and conditioned on blackberries, blackcurrants, and cranberries.

Drekker Brewing

Blueberry Lemon Brain Squeeze Smoothie Sour – One of two new Friday releases, this beer was made with blueberry, lemon, lactose, vanilla beans, and sea salt.

Royal Bee – A honey cream double IPA that also features lactose before being dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc, Ekuanot, and Mosaic.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

Ping Pong Tiddley – A London-style porter, available at the taproom, that is dark, smooth, and chocolatey, the brewery says.

FINNEGANS Brew Co.

FINNEGANS will embark on Dark Week from January 13–19, kicking things off with the Sunday tapping of Smoked Baltic Porter and culminating with Russian imperial stout Caorthannach (see the “announced” section below).

Smoked Baltic Porter – Tapping on Sunday, this is a medium body porter with subtle smoked malt along with flavors of dark chocolate and cocoa.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Mind Haze – Firestone Walker’s first hazy IPA is influenced by hefeweizens. The brewery says it’s juicy, hazy, and balanced, using esters from the yeast to provide a fruit-forward experience.

HeadFlyer Brewing

Cold Lampin – The latest in the Beyond the Door series, this is a hazy IPA made with Denali hops.

Hop & Barrel Brewing Company

Brute IPA – Tapping this Saturday as the brewery celebrates its first anniversary.

Double Bromance – Out now, this is a double dry-hopped double IPA that pours at 9% ABV, 79 IBU with notes of citrus, melon, pineapple, and a hint of pine.

Insight Brewing

My Free 30 Day Trial of MEGA DANKBOT – Available in the taproom and at select bars and restaurants, this new double IPA is dry-hopped and offers dank, resinous, fruit, and piney flavors. 8.6% ABV, 100+ IBU.

Neon Pink – Also tapped last week, this is a cotton candy-inspired beer.

Junkyard Brewing Co.

Aerial Scenario – Top Flight selection.

Biocumulus – A 6.4% ABV sour IPA with grapefruit and lemon aromas along with floral and earthy characteristics.

Double Pineapple Shake-O-Matic – A 9.0% ABV double milkshake IPA—the first DIPA in the Shake-O-Matic series. The beer offers bold tropical, stone fruit, and citrus flavors and aromas along with a notable pineapple flavor and a creamy body, the brewery says.

Guava Passionfruit Super Slurp – “The fresh tropical taste of guava paired with the exotic tartness of passionfruit, together with the creamy, rich blend of vanilla and lactose creates the perfect combination of sweet and sour,” the brewery says of this 6.2% ABV beer.

Limestone Brewers

Resilience Butte County Proud IPA – Tapped last week at the Iowa brewery.

Lupulin Brewing

Coffee Shop Assault Vehicle – This is an imperial stout infused with chocolate and bourbon-barrel-aged coffee beans. It is available in limited bottles, beginning on Saturday January 12. 12% ABV.

Make IPA Piney Again – A new 7% ABV, 70 IBU American IPA, to be sold in cans and draft.

Modist Brewing Co.

Shook – This version of Shook is a double vanilla milkshake double IPA. It taps at the brewery on Saturday and hits liquor stores in cans next week.

Pantown Brewing opened in St. Cloud in December. Their currently lineup features:

1917 IPA – A 6.5 ABV, 66 IBU IPA.

Drop Forge Milk Stout – A 5.1% ABV, 24 IBU milk stout.

Flat Iron Amber – 5% ABV, 34 IBU

Raspberry Dream – A 4.1% ABV, 10 IBU fruited beer.

The Classic Cream Ale – A 5.5% ABV, 14 IBU cream ale.

Portage Brewing Company

Resilience Butte County Proud IPA – Portage Brewing Company suffered extensive damage from a catastrophic fire that virtually destroyed the taproom and brewhouse on January 6. Though no one was injured in the blaze, the brewery is indefinitely closed until it can rebuild, forced to dump the majority of its beer in the meantime. In a terrible twist of irony, Portage was planning to release Resilience IPA this weekend, joining together with over a thousand breweries across the U.S. to raise funds for Northern California’s wildfire recovery. “Firefighters were scheduled to pour that beer at our brewery, who inevitably helped fight the blaze that took our business,” said Portage in a Facebook post. “Thanks to a lot of entities, this will still be happening.” The beer will be tapped at a benefit event tonight, January 11, at the Bluewater Lodge in Walker.

Shakopee Brewhall

Fuzzy Logic – A fruity, hoppy peach milkshake IPA.

Summit Brewing Company

The new January Ratskeller Reserve Collection variety pack debuted in the taproom this week, with all four limited offering beers also coming to liquor stores soon.

Get Smoked – An export porter made with smoked malts, spicy British hops, and offering dark fruit and bittersweet chocolate flavors, the brewery says.

Triple Rye – An amber ale made with rye varieties from three different countries and offering sweet roasted malt notes along with rye spice and citrusy hops.

Twenty-One – “Twenty-One features seven different malts, seven different hops, and notes of citrus, pine and melon,” the brewery says of this new IPA.

XPA One – A single malt, single hop pale ale with bread crust, sourdough, and tropical hop flavors.

Surly Brewing Company

Pecan Pie Darkness – A new taproom exclusive infusion that was tapped on January 9.

Seasonal or rotating returns

Barrel-Aged Barleywine – This Saturday 12welve Eyes introduces a 2018 vintage barleywine that was aged for eight months in a Buffalo Trace barrel. Described as English-like and more traditional than its 2017 predecessor, the brewery says that “Both the bourbon and barrel character in this upcoming Barrel-Aged Barleywine beautifully complement the caramel flavors of the beer backed by a dark fruit sweetness.”

He Likes It Cold – A rich, robust porter brewed with smoked malts.

Bauhaus Brew Labs

Crop Circus – An 8.4% ABV double IPA made with a blend of four hops for juicy flavors without the haze. Available on draft and in 16-ounce cans, it has tropical fruit and fresh citrus flavors with limited bitterness.

Blushing Monk – A Belgian-style ale with raspberries that is sold in 4-pack bottles as part of the Limited Series. 9.2% ABV, the brewery notes, “Fruit-forward ferment aromas and spice esters combine with an abundance of raspberries for a tart and luscious, raspberry-jam character.”

Blue Polar – The blueberry cream ale at 5.3% ABV, 14 IBU is back on tap.

Steel Toe Brewing

Size 11 – Top Flight selection.

Talking Waters Brewing Company

Pip’s Porter – Available on nitro at the Montevideo taproom.

Town Hall Brewery

Chocolate Citrus Belgian Bruin – A base beer aged on kumquat and Belgian chocolate, which will become Project 3106 after hitting the bourbon barrels. Part of the Showcase of Sippers series that previews the brewery’s barrel-aged series.

2014 Vintage Weizenbock – Once this beer hits bourbon barrels it becomes Buffalo Bock. Part of the Showcase of Sippers series.

Beers just announced

Pale Lager – This upcoming beer was brewed in collaboration with Brickfield Brewing.

Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt – Bad Weather has teamed up with the Pioneer Press for an official beer for Winter Carnival 2019. Coming on January 19, this dark cream ale features art by frequent Growlercontributor DWITT.

The 2019 calendar is out at Castle Danger. In addition to the Baltic Porter that’s now available, this year’s lineup includes year round offerings Castle Cream Ale, Ode IPA, 17-7 Pale Ale, North Shore Lager, George Hunter Stout (also on nitro), plus the following, listed in order of release by seasonal and limited release series.

Seasonals:

White Pine Project – Available February through April.

Summer Crush – Available April-July.

Red Hop – Available August-October.

Mosaic Fresh Hop Ale – Due in September.

Choice Pils – Coming in November.

Taproom Series:

Brut IPA – Coming February and available into March as part of the Taproom Series of limited release beers.

DIPA – Scheduled for a March release.

Nordic – A juniper rye ale due in April.

Honey Raspberry Wheat – Scheduled for May.

Hefeweizen – Scheduled for July.

Maple Marzen – Returning in September.

Belgian Abbey – Coming this November.

FINNEGANS Brew Co.

As mentioned earlier, with this Sunday’s release of Smoked Baltic Porter, FINNEGANS’ Dark Week runs January 13–19. Tuesday through Sunday releases are as follows.

Black Tartan Scottish Stout – An 8.5% ABV stout brewed with maple syrup and peat-smoked malt. It offers a creamy mouthfeel with maple up front and a smoky peat finish with a notable chocolate presence. Available on Tuesday, January 15.

Barrel-Aged Caorthannach – At 10.3% ABV, this limited offering of the Russian imperial stout was aged in pinot noir barrels that were then reused for whiskey. It’s rich with notes of raisin, plum, vanilla, smoke, and chocolate with a fruity pinot finish. Also available on Saturday, January 19.

Cake Beer – Sisyphus will throw a “4.5 birthday party” next Saturday, January 19. The lineup will feature the return of this beer, made with real cake in the mash, along with other special selections.

Take 16 Brewing Co.

Tree Time barrel aged spiced lager – Available at Winterfest on January 25 in St. Paul.

Prairie Solace Belgian-style Dubbel – Available at Winterfest on January 25 in St. Paul.

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.

Assassin – The Decorah, IA brewery will host a bottle release party on March 30.

Curious about recent releases? Peruse our Mash-Up archives. Did we miss a beer release or announcement? Email us at newbeer@growlermag.com to let us know about new beers from this week and beyond. Or let us know what new beer you’re enjoying by using #TheMashUp on Twitter and Instagram.